Château Le Tellier-et-Iscour
The Château de Le Tellier-et-Iscour (Shortened as Château d'Iscour) is a small chateau in the Barony of Le Tellier. It is the former seat of the House Le Tellier and current Winter residence of the Marquis de Louvois. History Château de Le Tellier-et-Iscour is first shown on record as a small Roman settlement near Brigantia. The small settlement was described to have a single circular temple dedicated to Minerva, though nothing of the structures that were integral to the settlement remains to be present. There is, however, a memorial marker in the central parterre of the pumpkin patch that marks the approximate location of the temple. The oldest standing structure in the estate is by far the Old Keep, still to this day used as a residence. In AD 659, the Old Keep was built. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the town itself had been abandoned; however some of the houses that remained somewhat suitable were transformed into portions of barracks for military garrison. The temple was eventually carted off for decorations in other buildings. Over time, new structures were created such as a kitchen and battery. By 942, the Keep was surrounded by a moat and 2 courtyards. Late one evening in 1051, a peasants revolt broke out, the outer Ha-Ha wall being overtaken and the outermost walls being seized. After several days fighting and the destruction of everything in the outer courtyard as well as the outer wall, the revolt’s forces were finally overcome as they tried to storm the old keep. The destroyed structures were largely sold off in pieces as building materials for other buildings. Around this time, the interior of the Old Keep was edited to also include a chapel, and a new keep was built near the edge of the wall. In 1160, the Middle wall (by then the outer wall) was slighted, all materials being carted off and sold to pay the owner's debts. The structure of the New Keep was abandoned shortly following this, as the moat separated the old keep and the new became wider and wider. When the New Keep was burned to the ground in a munitions explosion, the materials were sold off as well, leaving no remnants. After much of the furnishings were sold off, the household went bankrupt. The building was abandoned for more than 50 years, until it was bought by the Massonnoy family. In 1216, the Massonoy family purchased the land and added a level to the western wing of the keep, made of ornate timbers. This became the site of the lord of the manor’s rooms. The new owners also destroyed all but one of the rooms’ decoration. The family began to use the lands around the moat as a farmland in 1233. As time passed, the estate was extended, and the moat was extended with it to the amount that it is today, combining a nearby canal. In 1368, the Massonoy family was completely wiped out by plague, leaving the house all but abandoned. The estate itself was used as somewhat “communal” by the town, as the lands were reverted to the local authorities. The buildings were left largely overgrown, and a fire destroyed all of the interiors excluding 2 rooms on the ground floor, and the upper level of the west wing was obliterated to the masonry. Afterwards the majority of the structure was left open to the airs. In 1472, with the title of Baron Le Tellier created, the Le Tellier family was awarded the estate and the building included. The building, at this point only having 3 rooms even livable enough for human residence, was finally redone and completed by 1485. With the death of the first baron, Philippe Dieudonne, his eldest son moved back into Le Tellier, while his younger son remained in isolation. The new Barons were awarded several new titles and parcels of land as time went on, and the growing House began to forget about the little Le Tellier residence. In 1542, the newly titled Marquis de Louvois, Charles-Pascal, remodeled the chapel, building a new rood screen, though he favored Saint-Michel, a newly built structure recently purchased by the Marquis’s Cousin, the aged and unmarried Auguste-Michel. After years of neglect, the house went into disrepair until 1667, when Jean-Claude, the new Marquis de Louvois, repaired the château, redesigned the garden, and built a secondary building in an Italian style he was rather obsessed with at the time. He would never see it completed, having died in 1713, only months before it was completed. He was buried supposedly under the statue of Saint Denis. His son, François-Michel Le Tellier, used Le Tellier-et-Iscour as his main private residence, where not even his children were permitted. Eventually he began to use the building for parties and gatherings, family included, in around 1720, years after his wife died. The château was used by the Marquis’s younger son, Henri-Dieudonne, and his family until his 1736 death, when his wife used et-Iscour as her place of mourning. When she died only months later, the château was used as a winter residence for the Marquis, when not at Court. After the Mass Death at Le Tellier in the summer of 1737, which was brought on by a protestant traitor-cousin of the family, the Marquis de Louvois noted to spend most of his time there in solemn prayer. Building Characteristics The Old Keep, to this day called Le Tellier, is the oldest standing structure, and also the most altered. The building's decoration continues to bring airs of its past, being heavily influenced by newer designs but remaining traditional in many ways. the oldest decorations of the building can be found on the ground floor of the extension, where 2 rooms still contain woodwork that survived renovation and destruction throughout history. The newer renovations provide insights of the newer needs for the Le Tellier Family. et-Iscour, though its history is much shorter, is known for an architectural style favored specifically by the Le Tellier family. Few buildings of this time have such prominent dark-stone arches in an Italian Style. It is believed that Jean-Claude Le Tellier, the Marquis de Louvois and client of the structure, was quite the Italophile, which is a possible reason to choose such a style. The interior, on the other hand, reflects more traditionally Grandelumierian Baroque concepts. The two differed styles work oddly well with et-Iscour, and provide a decent contrast from its ancient neighbor, Le Tellier. The Garden, which mostly focuses on production, shows a very uniform conception. The central aspect of one segment is notably the Ossuary Pit, where the bones of all but two (Jean-Claude Le Tellier, who was buried under a statue in et-Iscour, and Jean-Jacques Le Tellier, whose bones were crushed and buried in a catholic cemetery) members of the Le Tellier has been buried. It is also supposedly the site of the Temple to Minerva. The Orangeries and aisles of trees provide simple aspects to enhance the buildings they surround. The Standing Wall, a small gated wall at the edge of the garden, separates the estate from the surrounding lands on all sides, only having 2 gates for access. Beyond the south of the wall lays a Ha-Ha wall, which is part of the original fortifications. Current Function After centuries of being used as a fortified structure, Le Tellier-et-Iscour sits today being used as the Winter Residence of the Marquis de Louvois, as well as a place of tutelage for his children and other family members. It is considered a decent residence, though not one of major importance in the ideals of architecture. It is, however, considered important instead for its worth historically. Category:List of Châteaux Category:House Le Tellier __FORCETOC__